International Day of the Older Person | October 1st

Each year, on October 1st, is the International Day of Older Persons. This observance was established by the United Nations General Assembly by Resolution 45/106, and is observed worldwide.

The purpose of this Resolution is to help bring awareness to the general public of the challenges faced by older people around the world. Just some of the challenges that our older citizens are facing are senescence, elder abuse, nutritional needs and medical services.

We, also, want to celebrate the contributions made by older citizens to society, and there continued contributions.

“There is broad recognition that population ageing presents both a significant opportunity and a challenge,” Mr. Ban said in his message to mark the International Day of Older Persons.

This year’s theme is ‘The Future We Want: What older persons are saying’, this theme was chosen as an effort to put our ageing population as an issue on the agenda of all Member States.

By the year 2050 the population of the 60 and older demographic will be greater than the under 15 demographic per the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), and with society heading in this direction the need for a strategy is more important than ever.

“[Older persons] are calling for a world where all have food, shelter, clean water and sanitation, and access to basic health services and education”, states Mr. Ban.

Conclusion

It is important for all of us to act now, for ourselves, for the older demographics, and for those that will have to deal with the strain of what is to come.

How can you help?

Make sure you have set up your own retirement plan

Help insure your family, the older generations, has access to all that they need to live comfortably

Volunteer, do your part to assist those that can not assist themselves

Actively vote for, and insure, that your Government representatives have a plan to insure that our older generations will be able to live a decent life

Remember that you are getting older each day and that, whether you like it or not, you may at one point be facing some of these situations and challenges that are being faced by our elderly populations.